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Irk
Irk is the homeworld of the Irken race, and capital planet of the Irken Empire. The view of Irk from space is unknown to humans, but the capital city could be seen when Invader Zim was rampaging through it in The Nightmare Begins, when he mistook Irk for an enemy planet. A screen showing the Irken Empire in the same episode depicted a large, dark blue planet in the middle, identified as Irk. This coloring was probably for easier identification for the Irken military audience, and Irk is believed to be red, magenta or pink in colour. Physical Characteristics Irk's climate, geography, flora, fauna and topography are unknown officially, though it is theorized that with the dominance of the planet by the Irken species, the entire planet has become covered in sprawling cities and metropolises (much like Coruscant in the Star Wars franchise) or even completely converted into a 100% mechanical/industrial world. There is even civilization deep under Irk's surface. The buildings in these cities are largely purple or magenta in color, hinting that it is an Irken custom for things to be shades of purple or magenta. The sky on Irk is light pink in color, like on Foodcourtia and Conventia. The idea of rain puzzled Zim when he first saw it on Earth, indicating that there was no rain on Irk. It is also suggested in Walk of Doom that Irk's sun does not emit ultraviolet rays, or that Irk's ozone layer is unusually thick. Life The only known organisms of the planet are the Irkens themselves and the Control Brains, who dominate the planet in sprawling cities and metropolises. However, if Irk is anything like Earth, it will have other species native to it. Zim has made references to other species when speaking in metaphors, but it is not known if any of these creatures are native to his planet. Also, Irken Smeets are born presumably in a large "birthing facility" (known to be called the "Hatcheries", or, less commonly, "Smeeteries") beneath the surface of Irk. Very few Irkens are taller than five feet, except the Tallest and a few exceptions. Orbit The idea of Irk being distant from its star would suggest the planet has a very low temperature. However, this does not increase the likelihood of water, as water requires hydrogen and oxygen to be present on the planet, which Irk may be devoid of. However, this is again highly unlikely, since hydrogen is the single most common element in the universe, with oxygen being similarly common. Additionally, Irk's sun is presumed to have a very thick ozone layer, meaning that Irk must have oxygen in some form. Air It has been confirmed that Irk has an atmosphere, since it has clouds and a pink sky, but the make-up of its air is unknown. It is presumed that it has contains a breathable gas also found on Earth, as Zim does not need his space suit to breathe on Earth. If this is true, it is conceivable that, conversely, humans can breathe unassisted on Irk. Distance Distance appears to be relative, changing for comic reasons quite regularly. Assuming that the conquered planet Conventia is anywhere near Irk, it takes about six months or less (depending on the speed of the ship) to journey from the Irken homeworld to Earth. Of course, that being said, it may also be possible that Irken ships cannot jump to hyperspace without a specific destination having been set beforehand, and as such, it would take much longer to reach a planet that one did not know the exact location of. Further evidence of this claim being the relatively short time it took Zim to reach Hobo 13 from Earth, as his ship was shown jumping to lightspeed. Rings As seen on the galactic map in The Nightmare Begins, Irk is surrounded by rings, meaning that it is likely high in gravity. However, unlike the ringed giants in this solar system (such as Saturn and Jupiter), Irk is a solid planet like Earth and Mars rather than a gas planet. This is probably what gives Irkens their agility on Earth. View from Space As mentioned above, Irk's view from space is possibly unknown. However, in The Nightmare Begins, Irk is said to be the dark blue planet with thin red rings in the center of the galactic map. We can assume that this is a color-coded representation of the universe, rather than its natural color, as all the other planets are a white color. Trivia *"Irk" is also a synonym for "annoy". *In The Nightmare Begins, Irk can be seen on the map behind The Tallest. In this incarnation, it appears to be a blue planet with a red ring. However, this may simply be a color-coded representation, as none of the other planets surrounding it have any color and are just left white. *Irk was mentioned as a clue on the Earth television game show Jeopardy!. Appearances *The Nightmare Begins *Parent Teacher Night *The Frycook What Came from All That Space *The Trial (cancelled episode) *Invader Dib (cancelled episode) See also *Irken *Irken Empire *Irken Invaders *Irken Military *Irken Society *Irken Technology *Irken Biology *Irken Jobs *Irken History *Irken PAK *Written Irken Language *Smeet Category:Irken Empire Category:Irkens Category:Locations